Think Like Tom Brady
I want to talk to you about your “leadership diet” but let me talk to you about diets of another kind first. With the excitement and drama of the recent American Super Bowl, the world has become vastly interested in the diet of Tom Brady. For a man in his mid-forties to function at his elite athletic level, Brady has to eat in a disciplined, super-nutritional manner. He virtually lives on vitamin-packed smoothies. He doesn’t drink alcohol or consume dairy. He devours supplements. You get the idea. He has to eat so as to feed his near legendary level of[read more]
Maxims to Live By
One of the arts of leadership that I urge strongly is that leaders distill and internalize maxims—short statements of wisdom. I urge them to memorize these maxims, to live them, to talk about them, and to be generous in passing them on to the young. This is part of the way you build a noble culture around you. When I said this to a group of leaders recently, they immediately asked me about my own maxims. I realized I had never shared these with my Leading Thoughts band of leaders. So, here are the maxims that guide my life—at least[read more]
Framing Your Team Members
Let me describe one of the most important leadership truths I know. It is that a good leader inspires his or her people by “framing” them, by describing them and even nicknaming them so as to elevate them and help them see themselves in higher terms. My man Winston Churchill did this. He spoke of the English people as being “lionlike.” He would nickname a general so people saw that man in uniform in the highest possible terms. He would speak of the people in a particular village as being “the steely heart of the nation” or “possessed of an[read more]
Be a Sean, not a Tom
I recently watched as a good man failed to be promoted to a position he had long sought. When I look back at the deliberations of those who decided this man’s fate, there really was one issue that settled the matter. I’m frustrated by this, because this one issue was more a matter of style than substance and yet it signaled troubling trends in this man’s life that his bosses found disqualifying. I want to name this matter of style and then challenge you to eject it from your life. This man—let’s call him Tom—had a habit of recounting his[read more]
Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics
We are living in an age of huge media events and breaking news. Historic happenings seem to intrude into our lives daily. It means that the people we lead look to us for perspective and assurance. The insecure leader uses this attention to make matters worse. The wise leader knows how to instruct and inspire. I was watching a young leader recently as he spoke to his firm about the challenges of Covid-19. His talk was filled with authoritative sounding recitations of fact and broad sweeping conclusions all given with an air of importance and insider knowledge. Yet when he[read more]
Who’s on Point?
As you know, I don’t usually talk politics in these Leading Thoughts. It follows, then, that I won’t be writing here in any great detail about what happened at our US Capitol building in DC. Yet I don’t mind drawing out an important principle of leadership that will help you. What I suppose we can all agree on about that troubling episode is that the security response at the Capitol was weak and disorganized. In the broadest, least political terms, let me explain why. Since I live in Washington, DC, I know something that most folks in our country don’t:[read more]
Covid-19 and Speaking Excellence
Allow me to add my blessing to all the good wishes you’ve likely had laid upon your New Year. I truly hope that 2021 is your best year yet. May it be for you a year of restoration, a year of prosperity, a year of growth, and a year of deep meaning and love beyond all you’ve known. Now, let’s get to it. In this first Leading Thoughts of the new year, I want to talk to you about perhaps the most important skill you will need to be a success in the times that are upon us. I’m referring[read more]
2020 Year End
I’m moved as I write this Leading Thoughts. It is the last one for 2020. Many of you have shared your challenges, your losses, your growth, and your victories with me in recent months. It means a great deal. I’m proud of you and eager to see you happy, successful, whole, and doing good in the world in the years to come. So let me end this year with a series of thoughts. First, I accidentally wrote here last week that Notre Dame was 10-1. Of course, they are 10-0. My bad. I’d love to blame it on my gifted[read more]
Courage is a Decision
I was watching a series on Netflix this past week when I heard words that echoed what was already circulating in my soul. In a fine series called The Liberator, a sergeant says to a terrified soldier, “Fear is a response. Courage is a decision.” I couldn’t agree more and I want to apply this sentiment to your leadership. We speak of great figures in history as though they were naturally courageous, as though they came from the womb with the deposit of courage that defined their lives. It isn’t true. What happened is that they came to embrace ideals[read more]
How to Deliver That Bad News
If you read these Leading Thoughts often, then you know I am an optimist. I believe the future is bright—that vaccines will be developed for Covid-19, that economies will bounce back, that we can recover from the severest blows, and that good days are ahead. This is all in the long term. In the short term, we are facing some difficult days. A harsh winter looms. We are in the midst of economic upheaval as Covid-19 surges and governments fail us. A Harvard expert said that the United States will likely experience more deaths from the pandemic we are in[read more]